A/N: oops i got carried away and it's accidentaly not 8k words but 13k. 

anyway, there are questions that frequenty pop up in comments, so i want to answer some of them 

1) this fic will be long af people. (if you havent guessed by the fact that they havent kissed yet and we're already 130k words in) so it'll basically be a book instead of a fanfic. i actually didnt think it would be so long... anyway, i just want to say that this fic will have around 200k-250k words, just to warn u

2) they will kiss in chapter 16 or 17

3) yeah the drama they are watching is school 2013 aka my fav drama ever

4) SPOILER - Clairellatime - your idea about chanyeol's company promoting luhan's comeback, that's what i was actually going to do lol u guessed it right haha (thank u for the long coment btw i was re-reading it every day)

5) as for side pairings, since there are 4 ships i think 99% of people reading this fic dont like at least on of them, that's why im hesitating in writing more about them, but if you say u dont mind the side pairings having some of the screen time as well, i dont have any problems with writing 1-2k words about them in every chap, switching the side pairings so u get a taste of everything.

ok, now when that's out of the way, as always, thank you for everything and thank you for supporting my writing. i'm enjoying your comments, upvoted, bookmarks, views and subscribtions bcs i think 60% of people will get bored as the fic gets longer and longer, so as for the way it is now, THANK YOU. hope you'll enjoy the chapter <3

 

--

 

After having a peaceful dinner with his mother on Friday after a long and tiring day at work, Chanyeol enjoys the chocolate dessert one that their maid brought for Parks from her brother's wedding - Chanyeol can't get over how sweet of a gesture that it, honestly. What surprises Chanyeol is that his mother doesn't bring up the subject of marriage the whole evening, and although Chanyeol is enjoying hearing her mother get frustrated about her co-workers and gossiping about them with her son while eating the pastry, Chanyeol can't help but be nervous while awaiting the moment his mother drops the bomb and finally starts talking about her lovely son being old enough to marry a pretty and wealthy woman. After all, it's been over a year that they had a conversation without this topic being brought up, and Chanyeol doesn't think this is evening is going to be any different, no matter how much he wishes to avoid the subject of marriage. 

However, the evening is ruined nonetheless because Chanyeol's father decides to show up, and the emotionless expression he's sporting doesn't look like he is about to join the current conversation he has with his mother. The moment Chanyeol's and the older Park's eyes meet, Chanyeol can tell that the pleasant evening has come to an end. It seems like he isn't the only one to think that, since his mother quietens down as well, busying herself with eating her cake instead of continuing to talk to Chanyeol. The gentle squeeze of his hand under the table where his father can't see is enough for Chanyeol to know that if things got bad - like they usually do - his mother is going to be there for him, though. 

Sometimes Chanyeol wonders how his mother can live by the side of an emotionless man like Chanyeol's father. Not like she had a choice. Chanyeol has heard that this was an arranged marriage, and his mother didn't want to marry Chanyeol's father at first, but her parents made her do it. After the years, Chanyeol doesn't think that his parents are in love, but he thinks they got so used to each other that divorce is out of question. He doesn't understand how his mother could get used to his father, though, and he is not sure if he can come to understand it in the future. Didn't she had a lover at that time or something, someone she truly loved? 

He has always wanted to ask, but was afraid his mother wouldn't react well to her son re-opening her old and already healed wounds, so the questions stayed in his head.

The maid in the room feels the heavy atmosphere as well, and after she puts the plate with food in front of the head of the family, she excuses herself and quickly disappears to a different room, leaving the Park family some privacy. 

"I heard you have found some new friends, son," his father starts as he picks up his chopsticks and has a first bite of his dinner. He looks at Chanyeol from behind his lashes, waiting for an answer that is taking long to come out of his son's mouth. His father hates waiting, and he always expects that Chanyeol will answer him right away, and if not, he usually gets irritated. 

"I have," Chanyeol confirms, nodding. He hold the eye-contact, but the eyes that are looking at him make him feels so small. After all these years, Chanyeol still feels small when his father is staring him down, and he thinks of himself as pathetic because of that. Chanyeol is a powerful business man and people say that he's fearless about him, but they are wrong. He is still afraid of his father, never being able to stand up to him. 

"Have you been enjoying yourself in their company?" the next questions comes, and Chanyeol knows very well that his father isn't trying to be nice to him for once and ask him how his life is going and if he's having a good time with his new friends. There is something bigger coming, and Chanyeol tries to prepare himself as he waits fot his father to end with this fore-play and say what's on his mind. The older man certainly didn't come to have a friendly chat with his son.

"I would say so, yes," Chanyeol is keeping his answers short on purpose, not wanting to say more than needed. He wonders if his father has looked in the background of Chanyeol's new friends, since he has never liked when his son hung up with people that are not as wealthy as Chanyeol himself, saying that his reputation will go down if he keeps entertaining himself with lower people. Chanyeol has never agreed with him, but again, he was too afraid to say it. Going against his father, it's something he doesn't have the guts to do. 

"That's good," his father snorts, his voice full of sarcasm. Chanyeol gulps, awaiting what comes next.  "How about Byun Baekhyun, do you enjoy the time you spend together as well?" His father glances at him again, wanting to see his son's reaction as he mentions the familiar name. 

His father looks satisfied as Chanyeol's eyes widen, and his lips part while he blinks at his father a few times, not expecting to hear Baekhyun's name. The way his father says it is disgusting and it makes Chanyeol want to be deaf for a second so he doesn't have to listen any more to how the man pronounces Baekhyun's name late the person who owns it is nothing more than a dirt on your shoes. Baekhyun is anything but. 

Again, Chanyeol doesn't dare to say it.

Now, Chanyeol has to be careful. If he wants to end this conversation as soon as possible he needs to act normal. His reaction to hearing the brunet's name has already given away the fact that Baekhyun isn't a nobody to him, but Chanyeol won't give his father any more satisfaction. He collects himself and answers as calmly as it's possible for him. "I do. He is okay... Funny, with a good sense of humor."

"Is that so?" his father smirks, a cold smirk that sends shivers down Chanyeol's spine. It disappears as soon as it appeared, though. "I heard his father was a funny man as well."

"What did you-" anger replaces his seemingly-collected self instantly, and his cool demeanor is broken at the mention of Baekhyun's father. Chanyeol doesn't waste time to act surprised that his father knows about Baekhyun's family, the older man had never had any problem with looking up even the most secret information. Instead of being shocked, he is furious. It took Baekhyun so much strength to tell Chanyeol, to trust Chanyeol enough to say it. And his father spits it out just like that, as if it was nothing, like Baekhyun wasn't left broken and with his life ruined because of that man. 

"Hm?" his father just calmly sits here, watching Chanyeol as his son drops the fork on the plate with pastry and bolts up, ready to stand up fully wasn't it for his mother's hand on his sweatpants that is tightly holding the fabric between her slender fingers and tugging Chanyeol down. Chanyeol hates how amused his father seems to be at seeing Chanyeol furious.

Chanyeol needs to calm down, that's what he knows. Not giving his father any more satisfaction, this is what he plans on doing. With that in his mind, he sits down and exhales his anger out, touching his mother's hand gently to let her know that he's alright. With a frown, Chanyeol says, "The things his father has done, it's not Baekhyun's fault."

"Oh? So you know about it? I wasn't expecting you to know, honestly. It probably is a very sensitive topic for him. You must be good friends if he told you about it," his father's tone is light, like he's talking about weather. He's calm, while Chanyeol is burning with anger inside, clenching his jaw in order to not blurt out something he would regret later, fists balled under the table where they are not seen by his father's cold eyes. 

"I think we are, then," Chanyeol agrees. It's making him sick how his father talks about Baekhyun's past as if it was nothing, not a real matter but a scene from a movie he can just discuss without any real feelings. The sickness he feels gets bigger when a memory of fragile-looking Baekhyun holding on to Chanyeol so tight, searching for security and protection, comes to his mind. The older Park has no idea how much pain has Baekhyun been through, how many things he had to sacrifice because of his father, but Chanyeol knows. He knows because during the hug, Chanyeol felt every bit of Baekhyun's pain as the brunet clung to Chanyeol that night.

"Did he tell you during the date in the restaurant, perhaps?" the questions don't stop leaving the older man's mouth, and Chanyeol just wants to leave already. When he thinks about it, Chanyeol would prefer to have the marriage talk with his mother again if it meant that this conversation with his father would never happen. And Chanyeol thought this will be a pleasant evening...

"It wasn't a date," Chanyeol says. He almost forgot that there were photos on the internet of the night they had dinner for the first time. And Chanyeol was happy he was close to forgetting about it because then he wouldn't recall the broken look on Baekhyun's face as Chanyeol tried to kiss him after the said dinner. "We are just friends. I offered to take him for dinner because he was having a rough day."

"Working as a waiter can tire you out, I suppose," the former CEO's voice is dripping with sarcasm and Chanyeol hates how is his father degrading Baekhyun and looking down on him. Baekhyun has fainted because of exhaustion for 's sake, so yes, working as a waiter can certainly tire a person out. Chanyeol wishes he could say it out loud.

"Anyway," his father continues when Chanyeol stays silent, fighting his inner frustration while looking at the man in front of him. He remembers that his father used to play with him when Chanyeol was still a kid, though it wasn't so frequent. He remembers his father being actually nice to him, giving him warm hugs when he was feeling down. Now, when Chanyeol looks at his father, cold and uncaring, heartless... the younger of the men can't seem to find a trace of the father this person in front of him used to be. It's like he lost his father thorough the years. "Your mother was nice enough to take care of the photos from your wild Saturday night before they could leak, but I was able to see them before they got deleted. And I don't think that the way you danced with Byun Baekhyun was in a friendly manner."

"It-" Chanyeol doesn't really know what he is about to say, but his father takes care of it for his son as he interrupts Chanyeol mid-sentence.

"I don't care what you've got to say, I really don't. You've dirtied our family name enough with shamelessly sleeping around already, so I wasn't surprised to see you all over some random person again," his father's tone is sharp, like he's talking to an employee in work, not like he's talking to his own son. "But I was surprised when I found out that this person isn't just random. You've been seen with him many times, and not only in the news."

"This isn't-"

"Bringing him coffee, walking him home, taking care of him when he was drunk... What a nice friendship you have there," his father snorts again, seeing how puzzled Chanyeol is on the other side of the table. The young Park wonders if his father knows about Baekhyun staying here while his parents were away too, and if yes, why didn't he mention it as well. 

"We're just friends," Chanyeol grits out through his teeth, his voice firm and confident while laced with layers of anger. This teasing or whatever his father is doing is having a certain effect on Chanyeol, and the CEO isn't happy with how his emotions are displayed for his father's pleasure, but he can't help it. Besides, it's true. Baekhyun and him are just friends. Friends is all they are ever going to be.

"Good," his father places the chopsticks down, standing up as he wipes his mouth with a tissue which he then throws into the plate with unfinished dinner. "Make sure it stays that way." 

He understands very well what his father was saying, the warning in his father's voice clear, and again, Chanyeol feels uneasy under the weight of the words. His father didn't have to elaborate for Chanyeol to know that there can't be nothing more between him and Baekhyun even if there was a chance. As a Park, he could never be with someone not as wealthy as him, his father will make sure of that. 

Chanyeol shouldn't have any hard feelings about the warning he got a few seconds ago. After all, this is another thing that would keep him grounded if he ever decided to make a move on Baekhyun again. 

And yet, Chanyeol can't help but feel his heart falling into a dark abyss after hearing the finality in his father's words. Even his mother's soothing words and a gentle hand on his shoulder don't make him feel better, knowing that if he truly wanted to be with Baekhyun at some point, his mother would be against it as well.

 

--

 

Chanyeol is lying in his bed, mindlessly scrolling through his instagram feed. He grins a little when he sees a funny picture, but that doesn't happen often, since the photos that are worth a laugh are hidden inbetween all the selfies of his friends or tons aesthetic photos. Then, Chanyeol comes across a post from Luhan - Chanyeol's been following the singer for quite a time now, thinking that it'd be good if Luhan or his agency noticed Chanyeol in the bunch of other followers and maybe decided to choose Park Advertising for their future projects. It would make a good name for the company if one of the most famous singers in Asia decided to be one of their clients, but his fantasies were ruined when he heard that for his comeback, Luhan's agency choose a different advertising company.

Bitterness aside, Chanyeol hasn't stopped following the Chinese singer. And he is glad, since the newest photo of him with Sehun - and also Jongin in the background - brings a a smile to his face even though Chanyeol doesn't feel like smiling at all, his mood ruined because of the conversation he had with his father earlier. 

This time Sehun doesn't look like he's going to have a heart attack any second and his skin color is a normal color too, the man looking like his handsome self again. In the photo, Chanyeol can see other dancers in the background further away, but Luhan doesn't seem to care about them as he grins brightly into the camera while leaning against Sehun who has a small smile on his lips, but even though it's tiny and not as big as Luhan's, it still speaks volumes about how happy he is. His face is just slightly flushed but Chanyeol can see it, along with the happiness in his eyes. 

The photo was added just today, with a caption that says I wouldn't want to ruin his image with the previous one~. Chanyeol chuckles and likes the photo, ready to scroll down when the sound of message notification pierces the otherwise quiet room. Chanyeol furrows his eyebrows, wondering if it's Jongdae, but is more than surprised to see that the message is from Baekhyun. His hearts starts immediately beating faster, not expecting Baekhyun to text him, of all people.

Chanyeol hasn't seen Baekhyun in person after he walked him home on Tuesday, and the few messages they sent to each other regarding the information during the week are nearly not enough to satisfy Chanyeol's strange need to spend time with Baekhyun. After the incident in the restaurant, Baekhyun took the full-time job offer - about which Chanyeol hadn't known until Wednesday when Jongdae told him about it - and since he's still trying to get used to the new schedule, Chanyeol has heard that Baekhyun spends most of his time sleeping since he is pretty tired. Chanyeol doesn't want to bother him, knowing Baekhyun needs the rest, but it still doesn't help him feeling any better. 

During the last few days, they spent quite a lot of time together, and Chanyeol got used to having Baekhyun around, as strange as it is. Not seeing the brunet for so long - yes, Chanyeol can be a drama queen too if he wants to be - is making Chanyeol feel like he's missing something. He used to see Baekhyun almost every day as he walked the brunet home, but he can't do that anymore, since Baekhyun's working hours changed with his full-time job.

However, he doesn't feel lonely, since Jongdae is almost always by his side. After they talked out the problems that were created with Baekhyun walking into Chanyeol's life, Jongdae is back to being the annoying and overly energetic best friend. He often drags Minseok along with them when they go for a lunch, but Chanyeol doesn't mind, taking a liking to the receptionist. Jongdae even asked him if it's really okay because he doesn't want to upset Chanyeol by making him feel like a thirdwheel, but Chanyeol told him not to worry. After all, he didn't really feel like a thirdwheel at all, always being able to join the conversation since the two were considerate enough and didn't start talking about things Chanyeol doesn't have a clue about. 

He leaves this thoughts behind as he opens the message. 

 

-- From:Baekhyun
20:51
i wanna watch school2013 but it would feel like betrayal if i watched it without u ... ಠ╭╮ಠ   --

 

Chanyeol's heart does a double flip after reading it, feeling so special that Baekhyun doesn't watch it because Chanyeol isn't there with him. They haven't really established that they are going to watch it together, and yet Baekhyun wants to wait until Chanyeol has time so they can both enjoy the drama. It feels like this drama, School 2013, is their thing, nobody's else. They already have something connecting them. 

 

 --From:Chanyeol
20:52
  it definitely would be a betrayal  --

 

Chanyeol replies and presses the send button, doing it so quickly he doesn't realize in time that he replies way too fast. What will Baekhyun think? That Chanyeol has waited for his message and that's why his reply was immediate? His worries disappear though when Baekhyun's reply comes as fast, making him feel at ease because he is not the only one who is so eager.

 

-- From:Baekhyun
20:53
i really want to watch it tho ಠ_ಠ ... --

Then, before Chanyeol can even message back, Baekhyun sends him another text that makes Chanyeol's breath hitch and his heart stop.

-- From:Baekhyun
20:53
let's watch it now  o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o --

 

What does Baekhyun mean by that? Chanyeol can't just leave now, not after the conversation with his father. He would surely ask where is Chanyeol panning to go and it would end badly if he told him that he's going over to Baekhyun's. But rejecting Baekhyun is not something Chanyeol wants to do, though it seems like the only option now. He is ready to reply that he can't and that he's sorry, but then he gets another message.

 

-- From:Baekhyun
20:55
we can watch it separately but we'd be talking on phone. it's almost like watching it together then..  o((*^▽^*))o --

 

Chanyeol just stares at the message without blinking, reading it over and over again to make sure he's not reading it wrong. Is Baekhyun for real now? Is he really initiating this? Chanyeol would say that they are now friends, or something like that, but he wouldn't expect Baekhyun to be the one to come up with an idea like this. Yes, Baekhyun seems to be okay with having Chanyeol around, but him being the one who asks Chanyeol to spend time with him? The first time Baekhyun did that he was surprised as well.

The notification brings him back to reality, making all his thoughts disappear. Just then, when he sees Baekhyun's newest message does Chanyeol realize that he probably left the brunet waiting way too long

 

-- From:Baekhyun
20:57
 only if u want to of course --

 

Noticing that there is no emoji this time, Chanyeol feels bad for letting Baekhyun wait. The brunet must now think that Chanyeol isn't comfortable with the idea of them watching the drama together while being on call, the worry clear from the hesitation in the message. Not wanting Baekhyun to misunderstand, Chanyeol quickly types his reply and sends it as fast as possible. 

 

 -- From: Chanyeol
20:58
yeah, let's do that. let me get my laptop first though. i'll call you when i'm all set. --

 

Throwing his phone next to him and getting out of the bed, Chanyeol searches for his laptop in his room, not remembering where he put it. He really hopes that he didn't leave it in the living room yesterday, since he really doesn't feel like having any form of contact with his father that is most likely in the living room as well. 

Chanyeol exhales in relief when he sees his laptop under the papers that are scattered on his table, and instead of finally sorting them out and clean his table for once, the CEO just takes his laptop from under the pile of documents and walks back to his bed, flopping himself on it and making himself comfortable as he turns the laptop on. Thanks to his rather good memory, he remembers the website on which they watched the drama last time, thus he doesn't have to waste time with searching for it.

It takes maybe five minutes until he's ready, and when the is finally sitting comfortably with his back against the back of the bed, he grabs his phone again and searches for Baekhyun's number in his contacts. Before Chanyeol dials the number he hesitates, finger hovering above the screen. He doesn't even know what he's afraid of, it was Baekhyun's idea after all.

With that in mind, he finally touches the display with his finger and throws his worries away, pushing the phone against his right ear. The monotone beeping is all that can be heard for a few seconds, and after it beeps five times, Chanyeol is - much to his disappointment - ready to hang up. However, the moment he pulls his phone away from his ear just a little bit, Baekhyun finally picks up, hurriedly saying, "Sorry, I went to grab some food... Hi, by the way."

"Hey," Chanyeol also greets him, the corners of his lips tugging upwards unconsciously. He feels somewhat nervous, his palms sweating and Chanyeol doesn't understand why. It's just a phone call. Two friends watching drama together and talking to each other on the phone, nothing special about it. Why does his voice sound so weird, even in his own ears, then? "What are you eating?"

"Noodles," Baekhyun answers and there is a bit of noise coming from the other side of the line, and Chanyeol guesses that Baekhyun just flopped onto his bed too, ready to watch now when he has food. Chanyeol would also like to eat something, but he sure as hell isn't risking meeting his father along the way. Maybe it's childish, but Chanyeol really doesn't want to risk the chance of having another conversation like the previous one.

"Again?" Chanyeol chuckles. Jongin and Kyungsoo told him that Baekhyun always eats noodles, since he is a rather bad cook. Although, the dish he made for Chanyeol tasted really good, so the CEO is left confused about Baekhyun's cooking skills.

"I like them," Baekhyun says, and Chanyeol can imagine the man pouting even though he doesn't see him. Some of Baekhyun's habits or gestures are already memorized in his head. "Anyway, let's watch the damn drama already before I fall asleep-"

"If you're tired you should go to sleep," Chanyeol cuts him off. There is a weird feeling in his gut as he says the wods and if he should describe it, it would probably be called disappointment. It's true that Chanyeol hesitated a bit back there and wondered if this is a good idea or not, but now when he decided to do it, he would be pretty sad if Baekhyun had to cancel their evening plans. Chanyeol's smile falters at the thought.

"-I don't want to go to sleep yet. I really want to watch it," Baekhyun's voice sounds confident, and so Chanyeol lets it go. If Baekhyun wishes to watch the drama with Chanyeol instead of sleeping, so be it. The bit of sadness from before quickly vanishes into this air. "Listen though, we have to play it at the exact same time if we don't want the sound to be messed up."

"On the count of three?" Chanyeol asks and lets out a quiet laugh at the seriousness of Baekhyun's tone.

"Okay, so... One, two, three," as Baekhyun says three, Chanyeol hits the play button and the episode starts. 

"Did we-"

"Ahh, we have to do it again," Baekhyun groans before Chanyeol can even finish the question. "I was disconnected and it didn't load. Stupid wifi."

Chanyeol snorts at pauses the episode, going back to 00:00 and waiting for Baekhyun to give the signal so they can try again. When they were watching the drama at Baekhyun's, the brunet's wifi sometimes started acting up without any reason, and Chanyeol guesses the same thing happened now. 

Maybe ten seconds later, Baekhyun tells Chanyeol that it's okay now, and starts counting again. This time, they actually hit the play button at the same time, which leads to Baekhyun letting out a happy exhale while Chanyeol teases him about his wifi connection and how they will probably have to do it again because he will get disconnected in a minute. Baekhyun just shushes him, telling him to concentrate on the drama instead of being negative.

And like that, with Baekhyun commenting everything that happens right from the start, Chanyeol's evening starts getting better, and slowly but surely he also starts forgetting about the conversation he's had with his father earlier. 

 

As Chanyeol guessed, Baekhyun's wifi disconnects Baekhyun after maybe ten minutes again just like that, and Chanyeol just laughs and saying the famous I told you it would happen. It doesn't take long until the brunet's connection is finally stable again and plays the episode normally without loading it every five seconds. The whole process takes maybe twenty minutes, which Chanyeol doesn't hesitate to point out to Baekhyun who tells him to shut up and watch the episode, since they finally can. 

After watching the first episode, they talk about it - or more like, Chanyeol is trying to say something the whole time but Baekhyun has a lot to say so Chanyeol doesn't really get the chance to say more than a few words. However, after the second episode they watch, Baekhyun is too emotionally drained and Chanyeol finally has the time and space to voice his thoughts, since Baekhyun's been talking roughly ninety percent of the time during the episode. 

Chanyeol doesn't mind. He enjoys listening to Baekhyun's remarks... He also likes his voice. 

To Chanyeol's surprise, Baekhyun quietens down when they are ten minutes in the third episode for today - and twelfth in total, which means there are only a few episodes left until the drama ends. It's not like the longer silence that stretches between them from time to time is awkward or something, but Chanyeol kind of misses Baekhyun's stupid comments and that's why he tries to get him to talk more again with a few remarks of his own. The problem is, Baekhyun only hums in reply most of the time, and if he says something, it's just a short, five-words-tops sentence. 

Only when the episode ends and Chanyeol doesn't hear Baekhyun say anything, the CEO gets worried. "Baekhyun?" he calls out the name with tenderness, but no reply comes. "Are you there? Is something wrong?" he tries again, but the results is the same. His questions are answered only with silence.

When Chanyeol stops calling out to Baekhyun and quietens down, he can hear the soft snores coming from the other side of the line. Just then Chanyeol realizes that there is nothing wrong with Baekhyun... the brunet just fell asleep. 

Chanyeol knows it's creepy as hell, but for a moment, he just listens to Baekhyun's even breathing, wondering when exactly the other fell asleep. Baekhyun stopped replying to him roughly ten minutes ago, so that must be the moment he finally dozed off, too tired to keep on watching or talking to Chanyeol. The thought that Baekhyun fell asleep while calling with him somehow makes Chanyeol's heart flutter. When he remembers how Baekhyun didn't even want to talk with him in the beginning, this sure is a rapid change. 

"Goodnight, Baekhyun," Chanyeol says even though he knows Baekhyun doesn't hear him, the brunet already deep in his dreams. 

After he hangs up, Chanyeol closes his laptop and puts it beside the bed, too lazy to actually get up and return it to where he took it from, the table being too far away. He covers himself with the blankets and sinks into the bed, finding a comfortable position before he exhales in content and closes his eyes, ready to go to sleep. Chanyeol is glad he decided to turn the light off some time ago because now he surely wouldn't want to move away from his bed. 

As he falls asleep, he wonders about how big will the phone bill be. He ever cared about it, since Chanyeol has more than enough money to pay the bills even for his friends, but it's been a while since Chanyeol talked to someone on the phone for so long. Four hours, that's pretty long is you were to ask Chanyeol. Honestly, the CEO wouldn't mind if it was even more than four hours.

When he slowly starts slipping into unconsciousness, Chanyeol doesn't think about how tiring this day was, or by how much his day got worse after the conversation with his father.

He only thinks of Baekhyun.

 

--

 

Baekhyun is not okay. He is nervous like probably never before, his palms are sweating, he can't breathe normally, his throat is dry, his head is spinning, he-

"Baekhyun, breathe," Jongdae deadpans, averting his eyes from the road for a moment in order to look at the brunet who is seating in the passenger seat of his car, seemingly close to having a heart attack any second now. It's been like this for past ten minutes, and though Jongdae tries to calm Baekhyun down by saying nice things to him and telling him that there is nothing to be nervous about, Baekhyun doesn't stop freaking out. 

"I think I shouldn't go," Baekhyun utters as he plays with his fingers, jaw clenched. "Can you just take me back home?"

"You were excited to go just this morning and now you don't even want to go? What the hell, Baekhyun," Jongdae shakes his head and his vision is focused on the road ahead again when the green light comes. Only five or so minutes and they are going to be at the place Chanyeol's birthday party takes place. Until then, Jongdae has to calm Baekhyun down somehow. 

"I just-... My gift is lame and my clothes are lame also. There are going to be many people from rich families, right? I don't want them to mak fun of me," Baekhyun mumbles, bringing his hands up so he can hide his face in them, cover himself from the world. 

Choosing a birthday gift for Chanyeol was hard, really hard. After all, what can you get a person who has everything, or can afford everything if they don't have it yet. He wasn't a talented cook - and also a baker, since the guy is talented at baking too - like Kyungsoo who can give Chanyeol a cake for his birthday, telling him that it's his new recipe and that Chanyeol is going to be the first one to try it. He's not a dancer like Sehun and Jongin who are gonna give Chanyeol two VIP tickets for Luhan's concert in Seoul on 4th April. And he also doesn't know Chanyeol well enough like Jongdae who can give him an ordinary tissue as a gift and Chanyeol is going to love it because there are surely tons of memories that connect the two's friendship and the said tissue.

Holding a small bag in his hands with trembling fingers, Baekhyun is reminded yet again about how pathetic his gift for Chanyeol is. Not having a better idea, the brunet decided to give Chanyeol special coupons to the CEO's favorite Thai restaurant. Now when Baekhyun thinks about it, it's really stupid. Chanyeol can afford it on his own just fine. He can buy the whole ing restaurant, actually. 

Baekhyun wants to die for embarrassment. Chanyeol is going to laugh at him for sure. 

And when it comes to his clothes, he is afraid that he'll look underdressed among the people whose clothes for today surely cost more than Baekhyun can afford with his whole year's payment.  When he was choosing what to wear today, Baekhyun was satisfied with his outfit because it's one of his favorite - a loose black silk button-up shirt with holes along the length of his arms and with slightly longer sleeves, then black skin-tight leather pants and one of his finest and most fancy looking black shoes to go with it. But the closer to the grand hotel in which the celebrations are going to be held at they are, the more uncomfortable is Baekhyun feeling in his clothes that are still safely hidden under his coat. 

"You look good, I've already told you that. Chanyeol's going to like it," Jongdae repeats again, like he hasn't told the same thing to Baekhyun at least ten times - and only during the ride, he had told these things to Baekhyun million times when they were still in his apartment as well.

Chanyeol's going to like it... the sentence echoes in Baekhyun's head, and his heart starts beating faster. "I don't want him to like it. I want people to like it." Baekhyun says, trying to convince Jongdae as well as himself. It's partially true though because yes, he wants people to like it, but he also want Chanyeol to like it. Not like he's trying to seduce him, that's not it. But Baekhyun wouldn't be honest to himself if he said that he wasn't thinking of Chanyeol while he was dressing up for tonight. 

"Of course.. Anyway, you really don't have anything to worry about it. Even your make-up and hair is on point," Jongdae gestures with his hand toward Baekhyun's face while holding the steering wheel with other. And oh, Baekhyun almost forgot that he put on some make up today. Although it's nothing much, it's still more than a bit of eye-liner or kohl he usually uses - or more like used - for work at Twenty... not that many people would notice the barely-visible eye-shadows. 

His hair is also styled a little differently today. Instead of having his hair split in two halves, they aren't split at all and are freely falling to Baekhyun's eyes a little, the slightest bit curled so it wouldn't be too flat against his forehead. Baekhyun doesn't even know why he chose to change his hairstyle as well because now he has one more thing to be nervous about. 

"I just don't want to feel out of place," Baekhyun whispers, barely audible. 

"You won't. There are even going to be Sehun, Jongin and Kyungsoo with you if you feel too overwhelmed," Jongdae tries to talk some sense into him, but Baekhyun is always too stubborn to listen. "And Chanyeol too. He will accompany you every time he'll be able for sure."

 

--

 

They meet up in front of the five star hotel, Jongin, Kyungsoo and Sehun walking up to them with the presents for Chanyeol in hands. Aside from Jongin whose jacket is ped and his stylish outfit is put on display, Baekhyun is unable to see what's wearing Sehun or Kyungsoo who are smart enough to have their jacket zipped up in this kind of weather. He is sure they look amazing, though. 

They greet each other, and while everyone is excited - especially Sehun - Baekhyun can't find it in himself to fight off the nervousness he feels. He just wishes it will eventually go away, since he really wants to enjoy this evening. It's not every day that Baekhyun gets an invitation to attend a party in such a prestigious hotel, after all. 

Before going in with Jongdae, the guards look through Sehun's and Baekhyun's gift bags, letting them in when they don't find any dangerous weapon - but Baekhyun already feels bad and stupid for his present, since even the guards looked at him in amusement when they saw the two coupons in the small gift bag Baekhyun was holding. Then, when Kyungsoo shows them that inside his lather large box is just a giant chocolate cake, they are all in, following Jongdae to the ceremony hall, but not before they put their coats away. 

"You look really good, Baek," Jongin praises him immediately after Baekhyun takes off his coat, handing it to a woman behind the table that gives him a paper with a number in exchange. Sehun and Kyungsoo agree with Jongin as they get rid of their own coats, revealing their own stunning outfits. 

"I've been telling him that for past half an hour," Jongdae rolls his eyes. "But he always disagrees."

Baekhyun is walking close to Sehun the whole time as they are lead by the staff to the ceremony hall, looking around himself and taking in his surroundings, already feeling like he doesn't belong here, since everything looks so grand and expensive and just... not for people like him. When he looks at Sehun, the guy still looks genuinely excited without any hint of worry, and Baekhyun really wants to swap minds with Sehun for a moment. He wants to enjoy it too instead of worrying about what other people might think of him, or what Chanyeol might think of Baekhyun's present. He will probably throw the coupons away and say that he hasn't gotten Chanyeol anything, it would still be less embarrassing that giving him the coupons anyway. 

But then again, Baekhyun won the coupons because of a bet with his co-worker, and they are one of a kind, so he might as well just throw it on the table with other present while nobody's looking so it wouldn't go to waste. It was just a stupid thought to give them to Chanyeol, thinking that they can go to the Thai restaurant together sometime in the future.  

The ceremony hall is grander than Baekhyun had been expecting. It's extremely spacious and even though it's so large, there are people everywhere, talking and dancing, or eating out the tables that are full of food. Baekhyun has worked as a waiter for some fancy parties some time ago, but it wasn't never as big of an event as this. 

 The floor is covered in white porcelain tiles that contrasts nicely with the deep, dark-ish red of the curtains. The big and round tables have white-red tablecloth and there are eight chairs with gold decorations that go with every table in the room - and there are many of those, almost every table already occupied by someone. Baekhyun can't help but look at the ceiling for a while longer, seeing the beautiful chandeliers which are casting a gentle light on the room, giving off the inviting vibe to every guest that enters the room. When he averts his gaze from the ceiling to scan the room more, his eyes fall on the long tables full of food that are on the right and the left side of the room by the walls, and his mouth waters at the sight. There are all kinds of food - simple salty or sweet snacks, fully-cooked meals from all kinds of fish and meat, pastries and different cookies, then cold-served dishes as well. 

However, the highlight of the room is an enormous table in the middle of the room where there is a chocolate fountain with strawberries in bowls around it. There are also big cakes of all sorts, probably made by some famous bakers for the special occasion of Chanyeol's twenty-third birthday. 

And then, there are all the people in those expensive-looking robes. The women are wearing pretty and y dresses with lots of jewelry, perfect make-up and hair on point. Some of the men are wearing fancy suits while others are more casually dressed - simple button ups and skin-tight jeans of different colors that go with nice shoes, or even simpler clothing in a form of stylish shirts, sweaters or turtle-necks. There aren't many people that look older than Baekhyun himself, so the brunet guesses all the people here are still pretty young. Chanyeol said something about this being a casual  birthday party where he can invite all of his friends and all of the important children of sponsors, since the more formal celebrations will be held two days from now on.

Baekhyun isn't underdressed per se, but he still feels like it when he remembers that his clothes aren't as fancy looking as others, his whole outfit most likely costing less than the women's necklaces or rings. 

He wants to go home.

"We're gonna go to kitchen and hand the cake to the chefs so they can cut it and place it on the table here," Jongdae points at the table with a chocolate fountain, like Baekhyun hasn't been staring at it up until now. "You can take the gifts there," Jongdae gestures to the door on the right. "There are gonna be around 4 smaller rooms in there, and the small gifts are in the rooms on the left so they won't get lost among the big ones." 

With that said, Jongdae and Kyungsoo leave them standing by the entrance, and it's Sehun who moves first and starts walking toward the door, dragging Jongin and Baekhyun who are still in a complete awe with him. They follow the tall dancer in silence, still looking around as they obediently trail after Sehun. When they get through the wooden door and step into a small hall, standing inbetween two other doors on each side, Jongin asks, "What did Jongdae mean by the small gifts are in the rooms on the left so they won't get lost among the big ones?" 

The three boys look at each other in question. After a few seconds, Sehun smirks and says, "Let's find out."

"We can't!" Baekhyun stops him right away, slapping Sehun's hand as the younger reaches for the door handle. "What if someone sees us? They will think we're trying to steal, or something."

"Don't be dramatic. We're just going to have a look," Sehun frees his wrist from Baekhyun's grip and gives him a reassuring smile, patting Baekhyun's hands slightly as he tries to get to the door again. When Baekhyun moves to stop him for the second time, it's Jongin who interferes.

"Aren't you also curious, Baek?" the other dancer asks, mischief in his eyes. 

"I am, but-"

"Then it's decided. Let's look."

Baekhyun's protest go unheard as Sehun opens the door, and though Baekhyun already feels uneasy about the situation and the possibility of someone walking in on them and thinking that they are stealing Chanyeol's gifts, he can't help but crane his head and look too. The lights are automatically, and Baekhyun's jaw drops.

Not only the room is bigger than Baekhyun's whole flat, but it's literally full of gifts that are either wrapped in a ribbon, or put in pretty gift bags. There are tons of large cartoon boxes with electronics inside, judging by the pictures of plasma television or laptops on the front. Looking around the room, Baekhyun also sees some paintings in the back, leaning against the wall next to one another. Baekhyun sees many other things but is unable to really identify them, since they are all wrapped in nice papers and thus covered from people's eyes prying eyes. 

"Are you ing kidding me?" Sehun is the first one to voice all of their thoughts, his voice breathless. Baekhyun is glad the he isn't the only one who forgot how to blink or talk normally upon seeing the contents of this room. After all, it looks like a shop rather than a room for gifts. 

"It shouldn't be surprising but it still somehow is," Jongin adds as his eyes wander around the room, his heart stopping at the sight. He wouldn't have a problem with choosing at least one thing from this room he would like to take home with him. 

Baekhyun doesn't say anything for a while, to stunned to find any words that would describe what he's feeling. Gripping the small gift back in his hand tighter, Baekhyun says, "Okay, that's enough. We've already stared enough." The brunet closes the door again, pushing the dancing duo away from the room in the process.  

"Let's just put our gifts here and have some fun so I can forget about this, please," Sehun whines like a baby, and Jongin chuckles at the miserable expression Sehun is sporting. Everyone knows that Sehun really likes all kinds of electronics, so this sight was probably too much for him to handle. Baekhyun can tell, since he was rendered speeches and he isn't even that much into technology.

"Yeah, let's do that," Baekhyun agrees meekly, feeling like the stupid coupons are trash compared to what he's just seen. What a pathetic present, Baekhyun thinks.

"I wonder-"

Jongin is cut off when the door behind them opens and the dancer quickly takes a step forward so he won't get hit by them, dodging the wooden door just barely. Then, a second later, a mop of darki-ish silver hair styled back perfectly appears along with wide, curious eyes and large, stupidly looking ears. Baekhyun's eyes widen as he sees Park Chanyeol standing on the doorstep, and the new comer catches his eyes almost immediately. 

"Oh, I was looking for you!" the birthday boy says with a large smile as he closes the door behind himself. "Jongdae told me you'd be here."

"Happy birthday, I-" Jongin starts, but when he sees the way Baekhyun is looking at the ground, his gift bag gripped so tightly in the brunet's hands that it's probably going to be ripped if he doesn't stop holding it like this, the dancer clears his throat before changing his sentence, wanting to have Chanyeol and Baekhyun some time alone. "We're gonna be back in a minute, I forgot something in my coat I have to get back."

"What did you forget? I don't think-"

"Let's go- oh, and nice hair color by the way," Jongin says more sternly and drags Sehun out of the small room, the door closing behind them quietly. And Baekhyun hates Jongin now for leaving the two of them alone, already thinking of his revenge. Jongin won't get out of this one. 

The two of them just stare at each other for some time, looking the other up and down. Chanyeol, as expected, looks extremely handsome. His hair color is different, the man must've dyed it during the time they haven't seen each other, and he looks more than stunning, the dark silver tone fitting him perfectly. Instead of his usual comma style, his hair is pushed back, revealing his forehead. His eyes are slightly rimmed - with a black pencil most likely - and it's making Chanyeol's eyesstand out even more, complimenting their unusual, beautiful shape. 

He's wearing a black suit that fits him as if it was made for him - it most likely was - and a black turtle neck to go with it. He is actually dressed all in black and quite formal, but it is expected of Chanyeol, since it's his party. Of course he would look ten thousand times better than everyone else. If people were not aware of who's party this is, it would only take one look at Chanyeol and the answer would be clear, that's how good Chanyeol looks today. 

And if his looks weren't enough, the parfume Chanyeol put on is making Baekhyun feel dizzy even from this distance. 

"Uh, so.. I'm glad you came. That all of you came," Chanyeol starts lamely, scratching the back of his neck. Up until now Chanyeol looked really fierce with his strong but nonetheless pleasant aura, and he felt so out of reach for someone of Baekhyun's status, but with his lanky awkwardness and gestures, Baekhyun knows this is the same Chanyeol as the one who was lying in his bed and watching drama with him wearing only loose shirt and sweatpants. "And you look... really stunning."

"Me too. I-I mean, you too." Baekhyun says just as lamely, facepalming himself mentally for the horrible -up right from the start. Baekhyun blames it on the compliment Chanyeol gave him.

Baekhyun's voice is quieter and different from his usual, loud and excited tone also. Chanyeol seems to catch the change too, and a warm though concerned smile appears on his plump lips just as Baekhyun looks up from the ground to meet Chanyeol's eyes again. The nervousness slowly washes away during their short eye-contact, but not completely.

Baekhyun tries to hide the gift back behind his back so Chanyeol won't see and ask about it, but Baekhyun being as lucky as he is, fails miserably. "Is it for me?"the CEO asks, taking a step toward Baekhyun without fully realizing it. The brunet doesn't mind Chanyeol standing closer than before, not really, but his mood drops right away as Chanyeol points to the bag in the brunet's hands.

If Baekhyun was feeling alright, he would crack a sarcastic joke, but not now. Definitely not now when he's internally freaking out about what he's going to say. Chanyeol is going to want to see Baekhyun's lame gift, and Baekhyun still doesn't know what he'll say to explain his terrible choice of the present. 

"It's- well," Baekhyun supposes there's no point lying about it now. "It is."

Chanyeol's whole face lights up when Baekhyun confirms that it's indeed his, and he wants to take the present from Baekhyun's hands, but the brunet takes a step back so Chanyeol won't be able to do that. The CEO looks at him in confusion and furrows his eyebrows while tilting his head to the side, and Baekhyun can't help but smile a little at the sight.

Chanyeol is adorable. Like the previous times, Baekhyun tells himself that it's just an observation and nothing more. 

"It's lame," Baekhyun gets out of his mouth in a hope that Chanyeol says to just throw it into the room with other presents hwhere it will hopefully get lost and the CEO won't ever find it, but Chanyeol never does what Baekhyun wants, and that's why it doesn't come as a surprise when the taller shakes his head in protest.

"It surely isn't," Chanyeol insists. "And even if you think it is, it's for me. So you have to give it to me one way or another."

"I don't want to."

"You have to."

"I don't."

"Come on, Baekhyun," the taller gently grabs Baekhyun's wrist and lifts it up, the touch sending shivers down Baekhyun's spine. He doesn't know if his skin is really cold and that's why it feels so hot at the contact with Chanyeol's hand suddenly or if it has other reason, but it's the least of his concerns when the bag is taken away from his hand in a moment of the shock that came with the touch.

Baekhyun reaches for the bag immediately. "Give it back!"

"It's for me, I have the right to have it," Chanyeol chuckles and wants to take a look and see what's inside the small bag, but Baekhyun quickly reaches for it and puts up a fight.

"Please don't," he begs pathetically, looking into Chanyeol's eyes with desperation. The plan was to dump his gift somewhere in the room and quickly disappear so Chanyeol would never find out about Baekhyun being the one who gifted him the stupid coupons, but in Baekhyun's case it seems that nothing goes according to the plan.

"What are you so afraid of, though?" Chanyeol's expression softens, the chuckle disappearing from his face. His voice is gentle and so are his eyes as he looks down at Baekhyun. "I'm sure I'm going to like it. Even if the bag was empty, I would probably be happy that I at least got the bag from you. So don't worry, okay?"

Baekhyun is silent for a while, stubbornly not moving his hands away, but then Chanyeol smiles at him with this stupid smile again, and Baekhyun's grip on the bag starts loosening. Now when he knows that Chanyeol is going to see the of a gift that Baekhyun got for him, he should at least start excusing himself.  And so he does. "I'm sorry for giving you a pathetic gift like that. I-I... I-uhm.. I won them from a friend and you said you like the restaurant, so- yeah... These are special coupons, though, one of a kind. Y-You can order whatever you want even if it's not on the menu, and it's going to be for free. I though we could go together or- or you can go with whoever you want, I mean... I- I think... I'm just-.. really sorry."

When he knows that he's starting to ramble, Baekhyun decides to shut up. It won't be worse anyway, but at least he should keep the last bits of his dignity that are left as he stands in front of Chanyeol with his gaze on the floor, since he is too afraid to look at the CEO who is probably looking at him in disappointment. Baekhyun knows that Chanyeol isn't the type to laugh at him, but it doesn't make Baekhyun feel all that better.

"You know, Baekhyun," Chanyeol starts with a sigh, and Baekhyun gulps, getting ready for whatever Chanyeol is about to say. He can't be more humiliated anyway. "Not every present has to be big or expensive. Sometimes the smallest and the simplest things matter more." Chanyeol pauses again and Baekhyun looks up in shock, not expecting this kind of words to come out of the taller's mouth. 

Baekhyun blinks at Chanyeol, surprised to see the man looking fondly on the two coupons in his hand. One corner of his mouth is tugged upwards and Baekhyun sees the dimple in his cheek for the first time, a small voice screaming cute at the sight. One of the things Baekhyun the most are dimples, and of course Chanyeol has to have them.

"I think it's the thought that counts, not the price... And I really like these," Chanyeol finally looks away from the coupons and their eyes meet once again. Baekhyun feels his heart skip a beat and a somewhat weird but pleasant feeling in his stomach. "So, thank you. I would love to go there with you."

"Really?" Baekhyun blurts out, exhaling the words while looking at Chanyeol with wide eyes. 

"Yeah."

Baekhyun could cry right now, but not from humiliation but from happiness. He was so afraid of Chanyeol's reaction, and now he realizes that he didn't have a reason - like Jongdae had been trying to tell him the whole, but Baekhyun was too stubborn to listen to his friend. After all, Chanyeol is quite different from the other rich kids, though it took some time to figure out since Chanyeol was trying to put up some kind of boy image in the start. 

"I'm glad then.. Really glad," Baekhyun grins, the grin splitting his face in two. He is so happy, he can't even describe it. It's like he's finally able to breathe properly and enjoy the fact that he's here with his friend instead of worrying about his looks and the present. Chanyeol liked the present so that's out of the way, and he also complimented Baekhyun on his appearance today, so that must mean Baekhyun actually looks good. And if not, at least Chanyeol likes it. And though Baekhyun wouldn't admit it, it kinda was his goal to dress up nicely so Chanyeol will like it.

"Let's go. Or do you want to spend the whole evening here?" Chanyeol asks with raised eyebrows, smiling mockingly at Baekhyun. The taller opens the door to the room where the small gifts are and puts the empty gift bag on the closest shelf, tucking the coupons Baekhyun gave him into his suit pocket. Seeing how Chanyeol pats his pocket afterwards and looks at Baekhyun with his eyes sparkling with joy, Baekhyun has to take a deep breath to keep himself from blurting out his thoughts about Chanyeol being so damn adorable and nice. 

"What will you do with all the gifts, though?" Baekhyun can't help but ask, seeing that even this room is full of boxes, even though smaller ones. His eyes scan the room and he notices a few names of the most known and expensive brands of jewelry and watches written on the boxes in pretty font, and he wonders how much exactly all of these things would cost combined. Baekhyun could probably afford to live without working his whole life if he sold everything in this room and the other room as well. 

"Hand them out," Chanyeol answers simply and closes the door again, then opening the entrance door to the small hall they are standing in, giving Baekhyun space so the brunet can walk out first, like a true gentleman holding the door for the smaller. 

"What?" Baekhyun questions, shocked. Of course he knew that Chanyeol probably isn't going to use all of the gifts, but hand them out just like that?

"Yeah," Chanyeol nods, talking a little louder so he will be heard over the music and the chatter of people in the banquet hall. "Not everything, but the electronics for sure. They are mostly from our sponsors anyway, and it's good publicity for them if their products spread."

"Are you just gonna give all of it to random people, then? Or a charity?"

"Every year after my birthday, there is a tombola for all of the employees of the company. The ticket for tombola costs 5.000 won and the money goes to charity afterwards," Chanyeol explains and takes two glasses of champagne from the waiter that walks by them, thanking the woman politely. He hands one of the glasses to Baekhyun who gratefully accepts, smiling into his glass as he takes a sip. 

"You didn't strike me as the charity type of guy when we first met," Baekhyun says, thinking back to the time Chanyeol blamed him completely for his spilled coffee, telling Baekhyun he should have been more careful and showing off how much money he has when he told Baekhyun that the brunet wouldn't be able to pay for the cleaning if the coffee ended up on Chanyeol's shirt instead of Baekhyun's uniform. Who would have thought that the man Baekhyun thought of as a utter jerk is actually one of the nicest people Baekhyun has ever met.

"Oh, really," Chanyeol snorts. "I can imagine."

A comfortable silence follows, and the two just drink their champagne as the watch the people around them dancing and having fun, some already buried in the food. Jongdae with Minseok and Sehun among them. Baekhyun  notices that Jongdae is much less grumpy when he has Minseok by his side. 

"Hey, Chanyeol," the name rolls of Baekhyun's tongue with ease, pronounced just right and Chanyeol grips the glass tighter in his hand as he hears Baekhyun say it. The brunet doesn't say his name often, but when he does, it sure lits Chanyeol's whole body on fire. 

"Hm?"

"Happy birthday. I hope you'll have fun today," Baekhyun says, and he feels a sudden wave of a weird combination of joy and shyness going through him under the intensity of Chanyeol's eyes. It's giving him the weird feeling as if Chanyeol was looking right into his soul with those big eyes of his. 

"Thank you."

However, Baekhyun doesn't know that Chanyeol is just as giddy as Baekhyun. His large smile might be an indication, though.

 

Sadly, after the short conversation at the beginning of the party, Baekhyun isn't able to spend time with Chanyeol. The CEO is always wanted somewhere else, people dragging him into conversations here and there, and Chanyeol always smile apologetically at Baekhyun before going away. Baekhyun understands that Chanyeol has to spend some time with every person that had decided to come, and so he doesn't take it personally when every single time Baekhyun and Chanyeol start talking to each other, someone interrupts them. It's just stupid fate playing games with him, as always.

The unfortunate situations with Chanyeol aside, Baekhyun is really having fun. 

Of course the first thing he eats at the party are strawberries dipped in the chocolate fountain, but he doesn't stop there. They somehow separate into groups, Jongin disappearing somewhere with Kyungsoo and Jongdae sticking with Minseok - since the poor receptionist got harassed by some snobs earlier, the s throwing pretty bad insults at him for hanging out with his boss way too much - and so the only ones left were Sehun and Baekhyun who decide to try at least half of the foods that are here. Then when they feel like they've had enough, they decide to dance, which wasn't the best idea with their stomachs rather full. 

It doesn't happen only once that he is approached by someone unfamiliar, women and men popping out of nowhere to get to know him, some just searching for friends while others shamelessly flirting with him, making obvious with what thought they approached Baekhyun. The brunet always flirts a little so he won't offend the people that came to him, but then he politely turns their advances down. Most of the people he turns down ask if it's true that he's dating Chanyeol, telling Baekhyun that they have seen the articles on the internet about him and Chanyeol, and Baekhyun always blushes and says that he is most definitely not dating Chanyeol, his whole body feeling hot. 

After three hours it's starting to feel like too much though, and Baekhyun needs some fresh air. He asks if Sehun wants to go with him and the dancer nods, saying that he would also appreciate to disappear from the room full of people for a while before going back and dancing again, and Jongin who appears out of nowhere tells Sehun that after he's back, they can go dance together. 

One of the bodyguards show them a way to the back terase, telling them that there are many paparazzi standing outside the hotel now, probably waiting for who steps out of the hotel wasted as so they will have another ty headline for tomorrow's news, so it's better to use the other entrance if they want to take a break from the party. 

"The guard was eye-ing you so hard," Sehun snorts as they are alone outside, or as alone as they can be with people scattered around the terase with their coats on, smoking or just breathing in fresh air like the two of them. Sehun and Baekhyun kind of forgot about taking their coats with them, but whatever. They are standing close by the door so it's not that cold anyway.

"He looked pretty good, though," Baekhyun muses, looking back at the brown hair man's back as he walks back to his post by the banquet hall door. 

"Chanyeol looks pretty good tonight, too," Sehun says, nudging Baekhyun in the ribs with his elbow mockingly. "The new haircolor suits him."

"What is that supposed to mean?" the dancer is surprised that Baekhyun's neck hasn't snapped given how fast the brunet turned his head back to him, narrowing eyes at his friend and pursing his lips a little. 

Rolling his eyes at Baekhyun, Sehun replies, "You know very well. I just wonder why you haven't made a move on him yet."

"Because I don't want to. And we've already established that we're friends," Baekhyun tells Sehun as if it would be such a scandal if friends became lovers, as if Chanyeol and Baekhyun would be the first one to get together after being friends first. 

"He doesn't look like he would be unhappy if you jumped him," Sehun points out. Before Baekhyun can say something, Sehun adds, "And you aren't any different. Those longing gazes thing you two have going on is-"

"I'm not doing casual s anymore," Baekhyun cuts him off sharply. It's not like Sehun is telling lies per se. Baekhyun is aware of their longing gazes thing or whatever, but he doesn't really want to think about it. It's just physical attraction. 

"Who says anything about casual s?" Sehun looks down on Baekhyun, nudging him again. "I think he really likes you."

"Well, I don't like him in that way for sure," Baekhyun frowns. He's slowly getting defensive, he knows, but the thought of Chanyeol liking him for real... scares him. Baekhyun is able to stay friends with someone forever, but all of his relationships were flops. Baekhyun's been proven so many times that physical attraction isn't enough to keep the relationship going, and the possibility of Chanyeol liking him... is absurd. Chanyeol might think he likes him, but if they truly were together, he would get tired of Baekhyun rather quickly. And he doesn't want to lose Chanyeol. Even if he might develop some feelings for the taller in the future, Baekhyun can't risk losing Chanyeol. That's why he won't make a move on Chanyeol, ever. He is too afraid to ruin whatever possible friendship they can have. 

"Well, I think-" Sehun's phone starts ringing and the dancer groans, hating when he isn't able to finish what he wants to say because of something interrupting him. The taller fishes the phone out of his pocket, and his annoyed expression disappears right away as he looks at the ID of the caller. 

"Hey, are you alright?" Baekhyun asks when Sehun just stares at his phone without picking up, his face blank and motionless. "Sehun-"

"It's him, it's Luhan," Sehun whispers, like the guy can't believe it himself. Baekhyun's eyes widen and he chokes on his own saliva, checking the caller's ID as well. "He said he would call me later but I didn't think-"

"Holy are you serious right now?" Baekhyun exclaims, maybe a little louder than necessary, judging by the way some of the people turn to look at them. "What are you waiting for? Pick up!"

"But-"

"Pick up!" Baekhyun says, more urgently this time, and when Sehun doesn't move his finger to actually pick up, Baekhyun does it for him. Then, he brings the phone to Sehun's ear, the poor dancer looking like he might have a heart attack.

"H-Hi," he says, and Baekhyun facepalms. Smooth, he thinks and shakes his head. Sehun usually doesn't have problem with flirting, but he has a problem with talking to someone on the phone? Baekhyun is speechless.

"I'm gonna take a piss," he whispers to Sehun and the dancer only nods, but Baekhyun doesn't think he even heard what Baekhyun has said. Rolling his eyes, Baekhyun turns on his heel and goes to ask the good-looking guard where is the men's room, cracking a joke about how everything he has drunk and eaten has finally caught up to him. They fill the silence that could have been between them with a small talk, but when the guard asks if he should wait for him with a glint in his eyes as they are standing in front of the toilet in a dimly lighted hallway away from the people, Baekhyun says that it's okay and that he doesn't have to with a polite smile, and the man just nods, probably a little disappointed after realizing that Baekhyun isn't interested.

Baekhyun takes care of his business, happy that there was ony one other man in there with him. Since Sehun is most likely going to talk with Luhan for a while, Baekhyun takes his time with washing his hands and drying them afterwards, styling his hair since after all the dancing and running around with Sehun they look like . Baekhyun wonders how someone can hit on him when his make-up is already slightly smudged and his hair is . 

After doing his best to make himself look presentable again, Baekhyun walks out of the toilet with one last look in the mirror. He closes the door behind himself and takes a deep breath, preparing himself for the upcoming conversation with Sehun, the one that got interrupted by Luhan a few minutes ago, since the brunet knows that Sehun just won't let it go.

He exhales and is ready to turn around, when he hears a familiar voice calling his name in the most disgusting way. 

"Long time no see, Baekhyunnie," the voice says, the fake-sweet tone making Baekhyun shiver. His whole body is covered in cold sweat in a second, and Baekhyun even forgets how to breathe for a while, the breath hitching in his throat. He is motionless, too afraid to turn his head to look at the person to whom the voice belongs to. "Fancy seeing you there."

Gulping audibly, Baekhyun turns around and his whole world stops when his gaze falls upon the tall man that is standing just a few meters away from him, their eyes locking right away. The man is looking at him with a smirk and malice in his eyes, and Baekhyun feels so small suddenly. His hands start to tremble a little and in order to prevent them from trembling further, he clenches them in fists. 

"You don't look happy to see me, though.. It kinda saddens me," the tall male starts getting closer to Baekhyun, taking slow steps toward the brunet while looking him up and down. Baekhyun hates it, and he just wants to run away but he can't. His legs aren't moving even though Baekhyun really wants them to. And so, he just stands there, his breathing becoming frantic as the man gets closer, the distance between them getting smaller and smaller. 

"Why don't you say something?" he asks and raises eyebrows mockingly, knowing very well that Baekhyun is unable to answer him. "You used to be really loud," he continues, reaching out to touch Baekhyun. "Back when we were dating."

"Don't touch me," is the first thing Baekhyun says, almost screaming it as he takes a step back. Unfortunately, he bumps into the wall, and he has nowhere to run of to anymore. He feels caged, from the back by the wall and from the front by Siwoon, the ex-boyfriend he wished never to see again. 

"You liked me touching you, so why are you like this now?" Siwoon questions, stepping closer to Baekhyun again, violating the brunet's personal space. Baekhyun just whimpers and looks down in oder to avoid looking into the man's eyes, hating that he can feel the Siwoon's breath on his skin. He can't even imagine how he could like Siwoon touching him before because now even his mere presence is making his skin crawl.

"I knew you'd be there, you know," seeing that Baekhyun won't talk, Siwoon takes the initiative, bringing a hand up to touch Baekhyun's face with his fingertips. "You've been hanging out a lot with Park Chanyeol, or so I've heard, so it was a given that I'll meet you on his party, as I was invited as well. What a lucky coincidence."

Baekhyun swats his hand away, not wanting to feel Siwoon's touch on his skin, even if it's just the slightest contact between them. The flashback of the time when they were together, when he was begging Siwoon to touch him are slowly coming back to him and Baekhyun just wants it to stop, since thinking about it is making him feel nauseous. "Let me go."

Siwoon doesn't like being rejected by Baekhyun like that though, and the way Baekhyun swatted his hand away just now makes him angry. He was always a little bit more aggressive if he didn't get what he wanted, Baekhyun remembers. 

"Am I not good enough for you now that you've found someone richer or what?" Siwoon barks at Baekhyun, punching the wall beside Baekhyun's head in frustration, and Baekhyun whimpers and tries to move away from the other side, but Siwoon doesn't let him, bringing a hand on Baekhyun's chest and pushing him against the wall roughly. Baekhyun feels his skin burning under Siwoon's touch, but it's different from when Chanyeol touched him earlier, so much different. "Did you actually take my advice and started sleeping around for money? How much did Park Chanyeol offer to pay you?"

"I'm not-" Baekhyun tries, but his words get stuck in his throat as he feels Siwoon's finger trailing down the length of his neck, continuing to his collarbones and then to his chest that is only slightly revealed because Baekhyun has ed the first two buttons. 

"I'm so embarrassed that I've dated someone like you. What could I possibly see in a like you?... Even now, you're dressed like a complete ," Siwoon snorts and s another one of Baekhyun's buttons, to which Baekhyun immediately reacts and tries to push his ex-boyfriend away. Unfortunately, he is not strong enough and Siwoon pushes him back against the wall, large hands holding him by the shoulders, the fingernails making marks into Baekhyun's skin. "You are a good lay though. Pity that it's your only quality. Should I pay you to blow me too or-"

Siwoon's voice is cut off and suddenly Baekhyun doesn't feel his disgusting breath on his skin as it disappears along with the hand that kept pushing him against the wall, holding him in place against his will. Baekhyun opens his eyes - though he doesn't even remember closing them in the first place - and the sight that greets him makes Baekhyun's eyes widen.

Siwoon is lying on the ground, and someone is sitting on top of him, punching his ex-boyfriend. Someone tall who is dressed all in black, with silver hair. "Chanyeol...?" Baekhyun whispers in surprise. It takes him a moment to process the situation, but when he comes to the realization that Chanyeol must have witnessed Siwoon harassing Baekhyun, Baekhyun pales. Chanyeol shouldn't have heard that.

"Do you actually like the ?" Siwoon splutters and he spits out blood, and Baekhyun almost pukes at the sight. He hates seeing blood.

"Apologize to him," Chanyeol says instead of answering, landing another strong punch, this time to Siwoon's cheek. Baekhyun's ex-boyfriend lets out a pained exhale as he feels the intensity of the punch, but instead of doing what Chanyeol told him to do, he laughs bitterly.

"Why would I?" Siwoon snorts. "He's a-"

"Don't you dare say it again!" Chanyeol raises his voices and punches the man again, with even more force than before, and just then when Chanyeol lands another punch right after this one, Baekhyun comes back to his senses.

"Chanyeol, stop!" he cries, pulling the CEO's arm away and successfully rescuing Siwoon from another punch. The guy splutters out blood and his head falls to the side as he coughs. "You're gonna get in trouble."

"I don't care," Chanyeol barks and frees his arms away, yanking Siwoon's head and turning the man's head back to him harshly. 

"Chanyeol-" Baekhyun tries again, but it falls on deaf ears. It's very fortunate that nobody needs to go the the restroom right now and that there are no people in the hallway, otherwise this situation would become an enormous scandal. 

"If I see you even looking at Baekhyun ever again, I'll ruin you. Believe me when I say it. What happened today, you deserved it for running your mouth like the complete you are. When a word gets out about me beating the out of you or if you harass Baekhyun again, I'll make sure that you and your family can kiss your careers goodbye, is it clear?" Chanyeol asks, his voice deep like never before, the dark aura around the CEO making even Baekhyun back off. Seeing Chanyeol like this, furious and ready to kill Baekhyun's ex-boyfriend on spot is making Baekhyun feel scared, but at the same time Baekhyun feels protected. "I said, is it clear?!"

"Yes!.. Yes," Siwoon gets out, which satisfies Chanyeol and the CEO gets up, rubbing his knuckles that are colored with blood.

He turns to Baekhyun and his gaze immediately softens, and he walks over to the brunet, grabbing him by the same shoulder as Siwoon just seconds ago. But it feels so much different, Chanyeol's touch being gentle and tender, the large hand rubbing soothing circles into Baekhyun's skin. "Are you alright?" Chanyeol asks.

"I-I am.. But Chanyeol-"

"Let's get out of here, okay?" Chanyeol smiles at Baekhyun warmly, hand disappearing from Baekhyun's shoulder as he buttons up Baekhyun's shirt again, Chanyeol's fingertips brushing slightly against his skin from time to time. When he's done with Baekhyun's shirt, Chanyeol turns to Siwoon who is still in the stage of getting up from the floor. "And you, get up already. Go clean yourself up a bit," the CEO says, looking at Siwoon with disgust. "Enjoy the party."

With that said, Chanyeol grabs Baekhyun by his wrist gently, tugging at it to make Baekhyun follow him. Baekhyun takes one last look at his beat up ex-boyfriend before he lets himself be dragged away by Chanyeol, following his steps obediently with his head hung down. If people notice them, at least Baekhyun won't have to face their confused looks that way. 

Baekhyun feels like crying. Not because of what happened or because of what Siwoon said to him - even though that also takes a huge part - but because once again, something bad happened because of him. 

I ruined Chanyeol's birthday, is all Baekhyun can think about as Chanyeol drags him away from curious eyes.